The flaw resides in libssh, where a malicious SFTP server sends responses for unknown request IDs. These responses are queued by libssh clients indefinitely, resulting in unbounded memory growth and a client‑side denial of service. The weakness directly relates to improper resource management, aligning with CWE-770 – highlighting uncontrolled resource consumption and allocation of resources without limits.

Affected systems include Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, 8, and 9, as well as Red Hat Hardened Images. These distributions embed the vulnerable libssh library and can be impacted when their clients connect to a compromised SFTP server.

The CVSS score of 5.3 indicates a moderate severity. The EPSS score of less than 1% suggests that exploitation is unlikely in the current threat landscape, and the vulnerability is not listed in CISA KEV. The attack vector is network‑based: an attacker who can control or spoof an SFTP server can trigger the flaw by sending crafted responses while a client is connected. No special privileges or local access on the client are required beyond establishing an SFTP session.